Words and Guitar
by Marineko
Summary: [AU, yaoi] chapter 5 uploaded i like the idea of Slam Dunk characters being in bands, heh. has nothing to do with my Secret Identity series. it's PG because it's going to be yaoi in future chapters? please rr!
1. chapter 1

UNTITLED (AS OF YET) - title ideas will be appreciated! ^__~ By Black Rainbow  
  
Yaoi // Pairing: undecided, or S.E.C.R.E.T for now, hehe //  
  
Part One  
  
The crowd was unbelievable. The noise was deafening. A tall teenager with distinctive red hair pushed through the crowds, trying to get to the middle of the concert hall.  
  
"Hanamichi! Matte!" a voice called from behind him. Another boy about the same height battled his way through the excited audience. His hair was messy, and tied back in a loose ponytail. When he finally got to his friend, he murmured, "The crowd is really wild tonight, huh?"  
  
"Yeah..." Hanamichi answered, his eyes looking around as if in a daze. "I can't believe it. I'm here, at a Hemlock concert!"  
  
"The opening bands are good, too, if you ask me..." his friend commented.  
  
"I bet we're better!" Hanamichi said with a smile, and laughed. His friend laughed along.  
  
"Because we're geniuses!"  
  
"Are? Who said anything about /we/? I'm the tensai in the band!"  
  
"Is that so?" His friend glared at him, and opened his mouth again to retort, when someone else behind them interrupted.  
  
"Hanamichi, Nobunaga! Don't the two of you /ever/ shut up?"  
  
Hanamichi grinned. "Guess not, Youhei. I'm so excited! I'm finally going to see Sendoh Akira, live!"  
  
"Uhm... can you see from behind there, Youhei?" Nobunaga asked.  
  
Mito Youhei huffed, and nodded impatiently. "Just because I'm not as tall as the two of you, it doesn't mean I'm a midget either," he muttered. He was about to say something else, when a silence spread through the crowd.  
  
The hall turned darker, and the audience broke the silence by suddenly screaming and shouting out the names of the members of Hemlock. The opening to one of Hemlock's latest hits, Calamity, began to play distantly, and  
  
Hanamichi gaped as the members of Hemlock went onstage.  
  
})i({  
  
"It's too bad you missed it, Hiroaki! It was the best concert that I've ever been to! I swear, my heart beat along to Mitsui Hisashi's drums... and the guitar! The guitar..." Hanamichi sighed, remembering the exhilaration coursing through his veins as he danced to the music.  
  
"That's to be expected," a sulky Koshino Hiroaki muttered. "Hemlock is the best band to ever come from Japan, and the combination of Rukawa Kaede and Sendoh Akira's guitars is unmatchable." He raised his eyebrows in Hanamichi's direction. "Even a 'tensai' like you will never play like them."  
  
"Teme..." Hanamichi growled, but he didn't bother to get up and challenge his band mate. After all, he supposed, Koshino must have felt bad about missing the concert. "It's a shame that your mom insisted that you stay at home to study for the test next week," he said cheerfully, earning himself a glare from his friend.  
  
Hanamichi shrugged and redirected his attention to the guitar in his hands, plucking out a few notes, and humming along. /One day, we will be as good... no, we will be BETTER... than Hemlock!/  
  
"I quit my job because of lack of motivation / Don't need a girl for some kind of inspiration / we've got guitars and... itai!" he raised his right hand to his head, which Kiyota had just hit.  
  
"Aren't we supposed to practice our OWN songs, instead of playing songs by Hemlock?" Kiyota asked, sitting next to Hanamichi, setting his own guitar down.  
  
"I'm just playing..." Hanamichi grumbled. "Okay, okay, let's practice for real now." He turned at looked at Koshino, who had been sitting idly at the drums the whole time, and Koshino nodded.  
  
Hanamichi had loved music for as long as he could remember. Starting his own band seemed like a natural thing to him. So, he got some of his school friends together - he and Kiyota both played guitars, his best friend  
  
Youhei played the synthesizer, and Koshino, of course, was the drummer. Their band name was False Opus, and they had played in several occasions at school.  
  
Hanamichi wanted more.  
  
/One day we will be big/, he thought, thinking about the concert he went to last night. Hemlock was one of his favorite bands, and Sendoh Akira, the bassist for Hemlock, was the closest he had to an idol. /Of course, it's not like I'm the sort of person who idol-worships anyone/, he thought.  
  
For now, he smiled at his friends, and started the count in to their song.  
  
})i({  
  
"And in two days you're playing in Velvet, a club in Shoyo, and then next Monday you have an autograph signing at Music Magic, a record store in Kanagawa, and..." Jin Soichiro sighed impatiently before continuing, "I don't know why I even bother!" He looked around despairingly at Rukawa Kaede, who was asleep on the couch. Perched at one end of the couch was Fujima Kenji, the keyboardist of Hemlock, who was reading a newspaper and generally ignoring everything Jin just said. Sendoh Akira was sitting at a nearby table diligently replying to his fan mail. Mitsui Hisashi was nowhere to be found. /No one listens when I tell them their schedule, and then when they don't know what's going on, they complain to Maki-san.../ He sighed again.  
  
"Maa, maa, Jin-san, don't stress yourself too much," Sendoh murmured, holding up a very pink envelope (with hearts drawn at the sides) in front of him a bit suspiciously. "You should relax..."  
  
"Heh. I can't believe this review," Fujima suddenly said, waving the paper he was reading around. "The reviewer said that he's convinced that we burn heroin into our CDs, which is why it got the responses it did."  
  
"I told you, my voice is addictive," Sendoh replied, grinning.  
  
"Your voice? It's my songwriting talents," Fujima countered.  
  
Jin decided to leave the room, knowing that Fujima and Sendoh would spend the next couple of hours (at least) trying to best each other. /I really don't know why I took this job/, he thought a bit wearily. /Pampering rock stars and basically playing 'mother hen' is not really that fun./ But he knew he loved his job. He had been with Hemlock since their beginnings, when no one else wanted to take the risk of managing a new band. But Jin had faith in Hemlock, and he was right.  
  
He walked around the building, and decided to check out the studios that they rent out to the public. Maki Shinichi, owner of the recording company, loved music and wanted to help out budding musicians in any way he could. He had decided to rent out the studios on the second floor so that bands that had just started out had a place to practice. Jin liked to walk around the studios and listen to the bands play. As to be expected, the music played by the bands there were usually pretty mediocre, but Jin still enjoyed listening to them. There was something about a band that just started out, he decided, a passion that sometimes fades as a band becomes more popular. /Not that lack of passion was ever a problem with Hemlock/, he thought. /Still, there's something about amateur bands... their rawness, probably... that I like./  
  
Jin stopped. Concentrating hard, he heard a voice singing a soft, lilting tune. /What was that?/ he thought. /This voice... is really good./ Suddenly the voice was joined by a heavy drumbeat, and the rhythm picked up considerably. Jin stood still, listening to the song. The band had stopped playing in the middle of the song, but Jin thought that they definitely had talent.  
  
tsuzuku -  
  
note: the song that Hanamichi sang was "Teenage Desperation" by Loudermilk. since seeing Loudermilk live made me want to write, I'm using their songs as most of Hemlock's songs. :) So... everything Hemlock sings belongs to Loudermilk unless said otherwise, okies? Oh, and False Opus is actually the name of a local band that my friend is associated with. ;)  
  
please please review, and tell me if I should continue, ne? (I will decide by myself anyway, but input from you guys will definitely be appreciated!) ^___________^ 


	2. chapter 2

UNTITLED (AS OF YET) - title ideas will be appreciated! ^__~ By Black Rainbow  
  
Yaoi // Pairing: undecided, or S.E.C.R.E.T for now, hehe //  
  
Ju-chan - no way my story will ever be as good as yours! :) I love your fics. Jo-sen - as for Sendoh's hair, I think he has it down when he's performing, but on normal days it's as spiky as usual. Heh. Kitsune/star of recca - eh. I don't think I will ever write another SenRu, sorry! (no offense or anything; I'm just not too fond of that pairing. :p ) sLL - if I ever wake up with a burning desire to write another secret identity fic, it will be the ru X hanagata one! ;) kristel and ayu - thank you SO much for reviewing! (this goes to everyone else who reviewed, too!)  
  
and here's the second part! Kinda short, and I haven't checked it for mistakes or anything. but it's done! XD  
  
  
  
PART TWO  
  
"Moshi moshi."  
  
"Maki-san? This is Jin Soichiro. I think there is something -"  
  
"Aren't you supposed to be at the autograph signing now?"  
  
"Uh. yes. In fact, we're on the way there now, Maki-san. Anyway, I need to talk to you about something." Jin paused, lowering the cellphone in his hands and glaring at Sendoh (who was contemplating drawing things on the face of a sleeping Rukawa). Sendoh just smiled innocently and hid the marker pen behind his back. Because Jin was still looking at him, he busied himself with looking out the limousine window.  
  
"Jin?"  
  
"Oh!" Jin's attention went back to the phone. "Well, I was at the studios on the second floor last week, and -"  
  
"The public studios?"  
  
"Uh, hai. When I was there I overheard a band play, and I think they're really good! In fact, I'm very interested in their -"  
  
"You're already representing Hemlock, Jin-san."  
  
"I - I know. Demo. I think you should hear this band," Jin said softly.  
  
"I have a meeting in fifteen minutes. Come to my office first thing tomorrow morning, and we'll talk about it."  
  
"Maki-san! I -" Jin listened to the other line for a few seconds, before sighing and hanging up. "He hung up."  
  
"You discovered a new band, Jin?" Mitsui inquired. He and Fujima sat across each other in the limousine, playing what appears to be a 'friendly game of Uno.' However, Jin knew that there isn't a 'friendly' game of /anything/ when it comes to Fujima.  
  
"Hai. I think they really have potential, but I need Maki-san's backup on this."  
  
"You're not going to try to manage them or anything, are you?"  
  
"Of course he's not. We're the most talented band in the whole of Japan. Not to mention the best-looking, the best-selling, and everything. Jin-san would be an /idiot/ to throw that away to manage a group of amateurs." Fujima smiled. "Right, Jin-san?"  
  
Jin just smiled and shrugged, when the limo stopped. "Someone please wake up Rukawa," he said. "And Sendoh, /please/ try to behave, alright?" Sendoh grinned at Jin. Jin continued, "you too, Fujima."  
  
"Since when have I ever done anything to embarrass you in public, Jin-san?" Fujima asked, pouting.  
  
"Just get out of the car already, okay? There are a lot of fans waiting for you, and you're late!"  
  
"It's not MY fault that Sendoh was missing this morning!"  
  
Jin sighed. It was going to be a /long/ day.  
  
})i({  
  
"I can't believe that while every OTHER Hemlock fan are lining up happily to get autographs at Music Magic, we're stuck in school," Sakuragi muttered.  
  
"All because of that stupid algebra test, too," Kiyota added gloomily. "Otherwise, we'd be able to cut class like Hiroaki." The two of them sat next to each other in the cafeteria with the same sad look on their faces. Youhei, who sat in front of Hanamichi, smiled a little.  
  
"Come on, it's not /that/ bad. I mean, Hiroaki said that he'd get autographs for us, too, didn't he?"  
  
"It's not the same thing," Hanamichi mumbled, his expression not changing.  
  
"Yeah, it's not the same thing," Kiyota echoed.  
  
"I wanted to see Sendoh Akira in person."  
  
"Sendoh Akira is nowhere as good Rukawa Kaede," Kiyota said, causing Mito to sigh.  
  
/One. two. three./ Mito started to count in his head.  
  
"NANI? What did you say?"  
  
/And Hanamichi launches into another 'why Sendoh Akira is a rock god' speech/, Mito thought wearily. He watched in semi-amusement as Hanamichi listed the reasons why Sendoh Akira was a better guitarist and vocalist than Rukawa Kaede. This in turn, of course, triggered Nobunaga's equally heated argument over why Rukawa Kaede is the more talented band member.  
  
/At least they're not moping about anymore./  
  
})i({  
  
"Hiro-kun."  
  
Koshino looked warily at Sakuragi, who was staring hard at him. "Yes, Hanamichi?" He hadn't seen Sakuragi, Kiyota or Youhei for the past couple of days, so he had no idea what the younger boy would want from him. In fact, he hadn't seen them since the day he skipped school to get autographs at Music Magic. /Shit! Autographs! I forgot to get theirs!/  
  
Sakuragi suddenly gave Koshino a wide smile. "Where are our autographs?"  
  
/Uh-oh./ "Uh. autographs? Eheheheh." Koshino backed up a step. "You know, you forget the weirdest things when you're standing right in front of Hemlock."  
  
"Koshino." Sakuragi's eyes narrowed as he looked down at the (much) shorter boy. "Don't tell me you didn't get our autographs."  
  
/I'm dead, I'm dead./ Koshino thought. /Good thing Kiyota is not here right now, or I would be doubly dead. oh no./ "I'm. sorry?" He didn't even have a chance to take another breath before Sakuragi grasped the front of his shirt, shaking him.  
  
"You forgot the autographs?"  
  
"It's not really a matter of life or death, right, Hanamichi? Uh. can you please let go of me? Please?"  
  
"YOU FORGOT THE AUTOGRAPHS?"  
  
/Riiing!!!!!!!!/  
  
Hanamichi let go of Koshino, startled. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Koshino reached out for the phone. "Moshi moshi? Sakuragi residence. This is Koshino Hiroaki, who's about to be dead in a few minutes, so make it fast."  
  
"May I speak to Sakuragi Hanamichi?"  
  
"Uh." Koshino looked at Hanamichi, who was still directing a murderous look towards him. "He's not in a very good mood right now, so I don't think it's a very good idea. unless you're Sendoh Akira," he added as a lame attempt at a joke, raising his eyebrows at all the posters in Hanamichi's room.  
  
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I am not Sendoh Akira. I /am/, however, Jin Soichiro, who manages Sendoh Akira."  
  
tsuzuku -  
  
uhm. I know this chapter is really short. sorry about that, 'kay? I am trying not to rush my writing. (dunno if it's working or not, though) so? What do you think? Huh? Huh? ^__________^  
  
Thank you everyone who reviewed the last time! 


	3. chapter 3

UNTITLED (AS OF YET) - title ideas will be appreciated! ^__~ By Black Rainbow  
  
Yaoi // Pairing: undecided, or S.E.C.R.E.T for now, hehe //  
  
Ju-chan - didn't I tell you I was in a MakiSen phase? Hehe. ^__^ I just hope this story won't suck. :p you may archive it if you want. Michiru-chan - I don't know why I'm (trying to) keep the pairings a secret. Bear with me, ne? Jo-sen - what's wrong with SenHana? *pouts* hehe, I'm kidding. Well, senhana IS my second favorite pairing. sLL - kiyoru sounds interesting, ne? but. . . I don't think this will be one. Hmm. . . we'll see, I guess. Akane - thank you! ^_________^ Star of Recca / kitsune - heh, if I could draw I would do a picture of Koshino's reaction to the phone call (with a murderous Hanamichi behind him, hehe!)  
  
Comments: I think my characters are OOC. But, if they are, I think I'll keep them that way. Maybe. What do you think? And as usual, this is extremely unedited:  
  
PART THREE  
  
"You're thinking of leaving Hemlock?" Fujima asked, shocked.  
  
"You're - you're deserting us!" Sendoh sputtered, eyes widening, fingers pointing accusingly towards Jin.  
  
"Akira, Kenji. Shut up," Mitsui said. Then he turned to Jin curiously. "Does this have anything to do with the new band that you discovered?"  
  
"Hai." Jin continued apologetically, "I'm sorry to be doing this to you so soon. But I talked to Maki-san about it, and we both agreed that this band has real potential! But no one else wanted to manage them."  
  
"Ah, sou," Sendoh said softly. Everyone looked at him. He smiled at Jin. "It is like when we first started out, isn't it?"  
  
Jin smiled back. "Exactly. I'm the only person in the company who's willing to take the risk."  
  
"But what about US?" Fujima demanded. "You're just going to fucking leave. . . just like that? What happens to /us/?"  
  
"Well, actually Maki-san couldn't think of anyone else that he would trust with Hemlock. . . so he decided to manage you himself."  
  
"NANI?"  
  
Jin sighed, and tried to explain that they could not find a new manager for Hemlock in such a short notice. It took him awhile to get to False Opus. First of all, he had no idea what band was it that he heard in the studios that day. He had to dig up the record books and find out who booked the studio at that time. Then he had to call in Sakuragi Hanamichi, set up a meeting and an audition for Maki-san. . . he was actually surprised that he had everything done in such a short time period.  
  
})i({  
  
"Will it ever come like it did for you, Like it did for you? I kinda heard you singing, oh I never knew No, I never knew My heart skips around When I hear the sound I'm never alone. . ."  
  
Unknown to Hanamichi and his band, Sendoh Akira was watching them in the studio. "Sugoi, ne?" he murmured to no one in particular. He understood why Jin was so excited about discovering False Opus. He frowned slightly. It wasn't like he held a grudge against the "new band" (as the people at the studio had started to call False Opus) or anything, but he liked things the way it was. When it had been just him, Fujima, Mitsui, Kaede. . . and Jin managing them. /It had been fun, I suppose. But I suppose Jin-san doesn't want Hemlock to be the focus of his entire career. Heh, he's probably sick of us by now./  
  
"It seems like you have competition now, Sendoh-kun."  
  
Startled, he turned towards the voice. He took a deep breath and smiled. "I don't mind. I like their music. And we should be helping them out. Ne? Maki- san."  
  
Maki just smiled and stood next to Sendoh, watching False Opus. Sendoh looked away. It was then when he noticed Mitsui, Fujima and Rukawa coming into the room. He waved at them and motioned for them to come over.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Sshh! Listen," Sendoh said quietly. The stood there, listening to the other band play. Sendoh still had a smile on his face. Mitsui looked serious, concentrating on the music. Fujima gave Sendoh a 'what's the big deal?' look, and Rukawa was just as impassive as ever. For just a second, Sendoh wondered if Rukawa would still keep his deadpan look if he was given a sharp jab at the sides. /Probably would. He never reacted to anything ELSE I've tried before. . ./  
  
"Sendoh Akira."  
  
He flinched slightly at the sharp tone of the voice. He looked at Maki, wide-eyed. /Did he know. . . ?/ With Jin he would have just smiled innocently and moved on, but he doubted Maki would fall for it. He just shrugged and focused on listening to False Opus again. After a couple more songs, Maki left to tend to other matters, but Sendoh had already forgotten about his impulse decision to rattle Rukawa.  
  
})i({  
  
"Okay! That's enough for today, I think," Sakuragi declared, pleased with how well they played that day. The rush of joy and disbelief that came over him when he first got on the phone with Jin still hadn't completely disappeared. He wondered how everything could happen so fast. . . so easily. He knew it was pure luck that Jin happened to hear them while they were practicing in the studios. /And now he said we might even get to open for Hemlock on their next tour!/  
  
"Hanamichi. . . daijoubu?"  
  
"Eh?" Sakuragi gave Youhei a smile. "Why would I be anything but great?"  
  
"You seem so quiet today."  
  
"I guess I've been thinking a lot."  
  
"You? Think? Are you sure that's okay for your health?"  
  
"Why, you. . ."  
  
Youhei waved goodbye to Koshino and Kiyota as he walked out the studio with Sakuragi. Kiyota still wanted to work on one of his solos, and Koshino had to wait for him. (Koshino had promised to buy him dinner that day, because he forgot to get the autographs for Kiyota)  
  
The moment they stepped outside, Sakuragi forgot his anger. He forgot everything he was about to say. He just stood there, gaping. He would have stood there like that longer if his best friend hadn't elbowed him at the sides.  
  
He couldn't believe it.  
  
In front of him (and Youhei) stood all four members of Hemlock.  
  
"Hi, You must be Sakuragi Hanamichi! Jin-san told us about you," Sendoh said with a bone-melting smile. /It's Sendoh Akira! It's Sendoh Akira!/ Hanamichi thought. "We just heard you play, and I think he's right, you definitely has potential!"  
  
"Yeah, you're not that bad," Fujima offered graciously.  
  
"T-Thank you," Hanamichi replied.  
  
"Since we're all your 'sempais' in the business and all, don't be shy to ask for advise or anything!" Sendoh said cheerfully. "If there is anything we could do for you. . ." he trailed off.  
  
Hanamichi suddenly thought of something. "Well, there IS something. . ." Youhei looked at him, surprised that Hanamichi actually implied that he needed HELP with something. Usually the red-headed boy would send a death glare to anyone who dared to even point out his small mistakes, let alone anyone who offers him offer any help.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Hanamichi beamed. "Can I have your autograph?"  
  
Everyone except Sendoh sweatdropped. Sendoh's smile became wider (if such a thing was even possible) and he nodded. He was about to say something, but Rukawa beat him to it.  
  
"Do-ahou."  
  
Mitsui choked, trying not to laugh. Fujima idly patted him on the back, raising his eyebrows. Sendoh frowned in Rukawa's direction. "Kaede-kun, that's not a very nice thing to say to a fan. . ." he started to say, but his voice was drowned out by Hanamichi's roar.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, you. . . you. . ." he paused, thinking of an insult. Not able to think of any on the spot, he just sputtered the first thing that came into his mind when he saw Rukawa, ". . . KITSUNE?"  
  
Everyone except Rukawa sweatdropped. The room was filled with an almost deadly silence as Rukawa and Sakuragi glared at each other.  
  
"Oh, Sakuragi, you've met Hemlock?" Jin suddenly asked innocently. He had just walked into the scene, and hadn't noticed the tension in the room. "Koshino-san told me you're a fan of Sendoh Akira."  
  
"Sendoh-san was just about to give Hanamichi an autograph," Youhei said, hoping that it would help in diffusing the tension somewhat.  
  
"Oh, yeah!" Remembering that, Sendoh dug into the messenger bag slung over his shoulders. He took out a CD sample of their new single that was supposed to be out the following week. Grabbing a nearby pen, he signed it and gave it to Hanamichi.  
  
"Arigatou, Sendoh-san," Sakuragi said, delighted.  
  
"Call me Akira," Sendoh said. "Hey, we're on the way to a small charity show that we're doing in Ryonan. You guys wanna come along? Maybe we could all hang out afterwards! It'll be fun!"  
  
Fujima shook his head. He thought that sometimes Sendoh was just too friendly for his own good. He felt like shaking the younger boy. /Don't you get the fact that they're competition?/ he wanted to ask.  
  
"Actually, we were planning -" Youhei was interrupted by Sakuragi, who said loudly /of course/ they wanted to go.  
  
tsuzuku -  
  
note: the song in the fic is by Veruca Salt.  
  
Random: I can't seem to get to ff.net today :/ oh, and I went to see Good Charlotte play last Tuesday! It was one of the most brilliant sets I've ever seen! *sighs* 


	4. chapter 4

**Words + Guitar**  
by_ Black Rainbow_

Yaoi // Pairing: undecided, because I might change my mind ;) // 

Comments: I think my characters are OOC. But, if they are, I think I'll keep them that way. Maybe. What do you think? And as usual, this is extremely unedited:  


**PART FOUR **

"So, what did you think about the set?" 

Kiyota beamed as he started to answer Mitsui's question. "It was awesome! I think that was the best version of Calamity that I've ever heard! And Rukawa's guitar in Pos-"

"Nobu-kun, the baka kitsune is asleep; you don't have to suck up," Hanamichi whispered in his ears. Kiyota turned red, and Hanamichi wondered vaguely if it was out of embarrassment or anger. Yohei, who was the only other person who heard him, almost choked with suppressed laughter.

"I agree with Nobunaga about the set," Koshino said with a smile, glaring at Sakuragi and Kiyota, who both looked like they were going to start another one of their arguments.

"What about you? When did you start your band and all?" Sendoh asked Hanamichi curiously. Koshino noticed that Hanamichi was almost the only person Sendoh addressed to the whole night. He decided to answer instead.

"Oh, we've been playing together since early this year. Not that long, I guess, but Hanamichi and Yohei started the band together ages ago."

"Yeah, we found Kiyota at this inter-high school 'battle of the bands' thing, and Koshino joined us a couple of months after that. We may not have been together for that long, but we're already like brothers," Hanamichi added with a smile.

"How cute," Fujima intoned sarcastically. The whole table turned towards him. He hadn't spoken the whole time; the others had forgotten about him. Seeing the look in their eyes, he raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Koshino scowled. Mitsui just shrugged, as if to say, /that's Fujima for you./ Yohei narrowed his eyes, but was relieved that Hanamichi and Kiyota missed the sarcasm in Fujima's words. Sendoh frowned slightly. "Kenji is just in a bad mood today," he said out loud. "Ne, Kenji?"

"Whatever you say, Akira-kun," Kenji drawled, his tone saccharine sweet. "In fact, since I'm not feeling too well, I think I'll leave now. I hope you don't /mind/."

Mitsui shrugged again. The rest of them just stared blankly as Fujima left. When the boy was completely out of sight, Hanamichi wondered, "what's up with /him/?"

"Ah he's just a little erm, weird," Sendoh murmured with a smile. "You get used to it."

  
})i({

  
"Kenji, you didn't have to be so rude," Mitsui muttered. He and Sendoh left the club hours later, a sleepy Rukawa trailing behind them. The four of them have separate apartments but spent most of their time at Rukawa's. Rukawa had made part of the place a private studio, which they used for practice sometimes. 

"I don't think I was being rude," Fujima said lightly. His fingers ran through the keys of the piano and he started to play a few chords. 

Rukawa reached for one of his acoustic guitars that had been lying around and sat down on the nearest sofa. He started to accompany Fujima's piano, not saying anything. Sendoh leaned against the doorway, watching Mitsui glare at Fujima's back.

"I think Kenji's jealous of the new band," he suddenly announced, in an almost gleeful tone. "You all saw how talented they were."

Fujima's hands stilled. "I'm not jealous," he said slowly. "And I admit that they're not bad, but they're not as good as you think, /Sendoh./" Then his apparent anger seemed to disappear as he flashed a quick grin and continued, "You're just smitten by that red haired kid."

Mitsui chuckled. Even Rukawa looked up at Sendoh curiously. "That do'ahou?"

Sendoh grinned back. "Hey, you have to admit that he's cute, right? And he obviously likes me."

"Hn."

At Fujima's lack of response, Sendoh strode across the room towards him. Mitsui edged away and sat next to Rukawa and Sendoh leaned over and hugged Fujima from the back. "Hey, Kenji, are you mad? I still like you the best, you know," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. 

Fujima rolled his eyes. "As if I ever thought that a clumsy amateur like him could ever take you from me."

"Sheesh, then why the -" 

He stopped talking when Fujima shrugged his arms off gently and started to play the piano again. "It's nothing, okay? I'm just in a bad mood, like you said." He nodded approvingly as Rukawa started to accompany him again. "Akira, you play, too."

"But -"

"Can't you see that I'm on the verge of a new song right now? /Play./"

Grumbling slightly, Akira found his guitar and joined in. Fujima didn't have to tell Mitsui to do so as well - he was already walking towards his drum set. 

  
})i({

"Arggh!" Hanamichi threw up his hands in frustration. "What about that part can't you get?" He stabbed at the lyric sheet. "This says that you don't want to see the girl anymore. Okay? Nowhere in this song is a line that says 'I want to see you again.' Why do you keep singing it the other way round?"

"I'll see the damned girl if I want to," Kiyota snapped back, not making any sense even to himself.

"Look," Hanamichi started again with uncharacteristic patience. "You don't like this girl anymore. You /don't/ want to see her again. You can see other girls, just not this one. Okay? That's what the song says." He sighed. "Jeez."

"Leave him alone, Hanamichi. He's tired. We're all tired. Can't we just do this tomorrow?" Yohei asked.

"Yeah. It's pretty late, you know," Koshino agreed, yawning. "We were supposed to practice right after auditioning for that Soichiro guy, but noooo, you had to go see Sendoh Akira play" he trailed off and shuddered as the redhead sent him a death glare. "Okay, I'll shut up now."

Hanamichi opened his mouth to say something, but yawned instead. "I guess Yohei's right. We should call it a day." He frowned. "I was hoping that we could have more practice than this."

"Why are you so worried? The audition's over, Sendoh Akira himself said that it's pretty much a definite thing. If he's right we'll get a manager, we'll play at a whole bunch of clubs, and maybe we might even get a record out one day. Hey, maybe we'll even open for Hemlock one day! We just have to keep on," Yohei paused and yawned, before continuing, "doing what we always do."

"Yeah, don't worry so much," Kiyota muttered, slightly peeved about not getting the lyrics right.

Hanamichi smiled slightly. "Yeah. You're right." 

He thought about the night that they had. If anyone had told him last week that he'd get a chance to audition for a major record label, be invited to see Hemlock play, /and/ hang out with them afterwards, he'd have laughed his head off. But it had happened. He had met Sendoh Akira, who was to his opinion one of the best guitarists /ever/. He closed his eyes and tried to remember Sendoh's blue eyes looking into his as they talked, but for some reason, a different pair of blue eyes flashed vividly in his mind.

He frowned.

tsuzuku

confession: I didn't know what was going to happen in this fic even as I am writing in. :/// I am finding out as I write. ;)  
erm sorry that I took so long to update, and that this is rather short. My summer break is coming soon and I will try to update more then, okies? ^__^  
and, as always, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! :D

Black Rainbow  



	5. chapter 5

TITLE: Words + Guitar PART: 5/? AUTHOR: black rainbow DISCLAIMERS: Slam Dunk and all of the characters do not belong to me. This fic is AU, and OOC-ness will probably ensue.  
  
NOTE: This fic is also unedited, un-betaed, etc etc. and there are probably a million of mistakes in here that would make me wish I didn't post it so fast when I read it again later. But right now I just finished this and I'm lazy, so.. Here it is..  
  
Does anyone even remembers this fic anymore, anyway? I haven't updated in AGES. anyway, I hope that you guys are still reading this..  
  
About pairings. I'm figuring out the story as I write (well, I HAD a basic storyline but I decided to scrap it sometime around chapter three) so I'm not sure what will happen in future chapters, ok? I was reading some of my old fics and realized two things - one, that they're crappy. and two, that I've never written a RuHana before. Isn't that weird? (ok, not so weird considering they're not really my favorite pairing, but still. )  
  
CHAPTER FIVE  
  
Sendoh Akira was missing. Again.  
  
According to Maki, who told him (and the rest of the band) what they were doing that day, he was supposed to be in an exclusive party at a club named Liquid - or at least that was what he thought. Sendoh was used to never listening to Jin, and now he wasn't listening to Maki. So instead, he found himself in a completely different place.  
  
Sendoh wasn't sure that he was going to enjoy the show when Kogure (Hemlock's "Tour Manager", a.k.a. Roadie) told him about it.  
  
"There's a show tonight, at that street with the row of shophouses. what was the name of the place again?" Kogure asked during breakfast.  
  
Mitsui, who was sitting next to him, replied, "how would I know?" and went back to picking at the weird /thing/ that was supposed to be his breakfast. Sendoh watched him, looking vaguely sick.  
  
"I think I know which street you mean," he said to Kogure. "I don't know the name, though. Is it the one with the 24-hour bookstore?"  
  
"Black Cat Books! Yeah, that's it... the show starts at eight and goes on until midnight -"  
  
"Korean pop," Mitsui muttered disgustedly.  
  
"Iie! My friend said it's mostly experimental and noise bands, and a couple of punk bands."  
  
"Yeah, right. The last time -"  
  
Sendoh had tuned out right after that. He wasn't sure that he would enjoy music he didn't understand. But then Maki had came over and told them that Hemlock was scheduled to go to some lame party thing and figured that a Korean-pop-or-experimental-or-whatever-it-was show would be a good place to disappear into.  
  
And that was how he ended up with his back to the wall, drunk on music, his heart beating fast in rhythm to the drums, feeling that rush that he thought he would never feel again, the one he felt the first time he played with the rest of his band. He wanted to go deeper into the crowd and further lose himself in the music, but he had noticed a couple of people in the crowd wearing Hemlock t-shirts. He didn't want to be recognized. His hair wasn't spiked up like he usually wore it in shows and at Hemlock's public appearances but he knew all it would take was for one fan to recognize him for him to mobbed. Especially in a crowd like tonight, where the general mood of the crowd was wild anyway.  
  
So he stayed in the shadows and just enjoyed the music.  
  
"I should have known that you'd be here."  
  
Sendoh was so startled by the voice that he almost jumped. It wasn't the fact that the voice was so near - it was that it belonged to one of the very people he was hiding from.  
  
"Maki. -san." He blinked at the other man in confusion, determined not to panic. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"That was what I was supposed to ask you," Maki replied dryly. "I thought I have made it clear that while I am your band's manager, you shall follow the schedule I've set for Hemlock. And -"  
  
The rest of Maki's words were lost amidst the loud cheering and whistles that ensued as a band finished their last song. Sendoh wondered briefly if he would have a chance of escaping into the crowd. Somehow, the thought of being mobbed seemed more bearable than Maki's wrath. Although, he supposed, Maki didn't seem /that/ angry.  
  
Just as he thought that, Maki's hands circled around his right wrist. He looked away from the crowd and back at Maki. "What?"  
  
"Don't think I don't know what you were thinking."  
  
"I just -" he paused to take a deep breath, and realized that it was harder to do so. /Maybe if I get away from the music for a while my heart would stop beating so fast. Yes. That must be it./ As it was, his heartbeat seemed so loud that he could hardly hear himself say, "Maybe we should go to a more quiet place to talk."  
  
Maki just looked at him. "Just tell me why you found it necessary to disappear every time there is a party, or an autograph-signing, or." he let his words trail off as he narrowed his eyes at Sendoh.  
  
"Ah. that. well, I always found these things boring anyway, and it's not like ALL of us have to be at the party, right? I mean, when we were with Jin-san he always. hey, Maki-san, can we please go somewhere else to talk? It's - Jin always said -"  
  
What Jin always said would never be known, because Sendoh suddenly found that he couldn't talk. The reason he couldn't talk was that someone else's lips was pressed firmly against his. It felt warm. and nice. and. /wait a minute. Am I being kissed? I think I'm being kissed!/  
  
Almost as soon as he realized it, whoever it was that kissed him had pulled away. He blinked at Maki, who was suddenly just inches away from him.  
  
"Did. /you/ do that - that. did you just kiss me?" Sendoh asked incredulously.  
  
Maki gave him a strange look, as if he just asked a very stupid question. "Yes," he finally answered, when he realized that Sendoh was serious.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Bemused, Maki answered, "Because I felt like it."  
  
})i({  
  
When Sendoh got back home, he went out to the balcony and stared up at the stars - or rather, the absence of stars. He moved towards a nearby chair, intending to sit down, but stilled when he heard footsteps coming his way. /Please please please please don't let it be -/  
  
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the sliding door open. He turned, and smiled.  
  
"Party's over?" he asked Mitsui.  
  
Mitsui just raised his eyebrows. "And where the hell were you?"  
  
Sendoh just shrugged. He thought back about the show he just went to, while trying to forget what happened later. "Ano. Hisashi?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"What do you think about Maki-san?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"He's not like Jin-san."  
  
"He seems to know what he's doing." Mitsui raised his shoulder in a quick shrug. "I don't know. It's too early to tell."  
  
"Jin never /makes/ us go to all the stupid parties."  
  
"Heh. Well, maybe Maki is right, maybe this is good for the band."  
  
"We haven't been in a studio in a while."  
  
"Yeah, Jin said he'd go over some things with Maki first, before we start on something new."  
  
". What sort of things?" Sendoh frowned. He haven't heard anyone mentioning any "thing" that need sorting out.  
  
"Nothing important," Mitsui murmured, almost evasively. "Anyway, we're going to be busy anyway; we have a bunch of shows and appearances and other shit to keep us busy the whole of next month, I should think."  
  
"But we're not going into the studio," Sendoh said flatly.  
  
"No." Mitsui didn't seem as frustrated as Sendoh over the issue. He sat down on the chair that Sendoh was still hovering over. "Oh, yeah. one thing. Jin said for me to tell you to not piss Maki off, whatever you do, okay?"  
  
"Isn't it Kenji that you're supposed to say that to?" Sendoh looked away. /Was Maki mad at me?/ he wondered. /He wouldn't have kissed me if he was mad, right? Why did he kiss me, anyway?/ He shook off his thoughts, and asked, "Speaking of Kenji, where is he?"  
  
"Don't know. He said there was something he wanted to do so he didn't come back with Kaede and me. Actually, I think Kaede left the house again a few minutes ago, so I'm not sure where either of them are. It's weird; they're almost always home around this time." Mitsui frowned as he suddenly thought of something. "I hope that they don't do anything stupid."  
  
})i({  
  
"Sakuragi-kun?"  
  
Hanamichi turned towards the studio entrance, surprised. He thought everyone else had left. "Who is it?" He was slightly taken aback when he saw the figure that walked in. "Fujima-san."  
  
"You can call me Kenji if you want," Fujima said graciously. "Oh, are you practicing still?" he asked as he perched on a nearby stool.  
  
"Ah. yeah." Hanamichi's eyes narrowed. Why was Fujima Kenji being so friendly to him? "Do you want something?"  
  
"I just want to apologize for my rudeness the other day." Fujima murmured, his eyes trained on the redhead.  
  
"Huh? Oh! It's okay, I don't even remember it anymore." Hanamichi said somewhat sheepishly. That much was true. Ever since Jin had called him back to say that the label definitely want to sign on False Opus, he haven't had much time to think about anything else.  
  
"Akira said that you went on a couple of dates with him."  
  
"DATE?" Hanamichi went red. "Iie! That's not true! I mean, he came over to see us practice now and then, and sometimes I go out for lunch with him. but they're not like real /dates/ or anything."  
  
Fujima smiled. "Are you sure? He /does/ like you a lot, you know." he trailed off and watched Hanamichi turn even redder, amused.  
  
"Is. that true?"  
  
"Why would I lie? I have an idea, let's -"  
  
"Kenji."  
  
Both Fujima and Hanamichi turned abruptly towards the voice, surprised. Neither of them had heard someone else coming in. They both stared for a while, but Hanamichi was the first who spoke.  
  
"Baka kitsune, what are you doing here?"  
  
"." Rukawa just raised an eyebrow at Hanamichi's insult and turned back to Fujima, who looked irritated to see him there.  
  
"Did Hisashi send you to fetch me?"  
  
Rukawa ignored the question, saying, "Let's go back, Kenji."  
  
"Why should I?" Fujima asked petulantly.  
  
"Hisashi got a call from Maki-san after you left. Akira's been at some gig Kogure told him about. Maki-san is taking him home. /So let's go./"  
  
Fujima stared at Rukawa for a few minutes, and then said, "Whatever." He shrugged apologetically at Hanamichi. "Talk to you later, then?"  
  
Hanamichi nodded vaguely, not quite sure what was going on. He watched Rukawa and Fujima walk out the door, and decided that he had practiced enough for the day.  
  
Outside, Fujima was seething. "No wonder no one likes you," he muttered to Rukawa. "Can't you see I was having a /nice/ conversation with that Sakuragi kid? You could have just /called/ me to tell me about Akira." He walked quickly to keep in step with Rukawa.  
  
"."  
  
Rukawa still showed no reaction to indicate that he heard anything Fujima had said at all. Annoyed, Fujima continued, "and I don't care where he was, because /that kid/ -"  
  
"Stay away from him."  
  
"Huh?" Fujima stopped suddenly, not sure if he heard Rukawa right.  
  
Rukawa stopped, too, and turned to gaze at Fujima, making him feel uncomfortable. Rukawa had never looked at him like that before. As far as he knew, Rukawa had never looked at /anyone/ like that before. "I said," Rukawa repeated, enunciating clearly, "stay away from Hanamichi."  
  
Fujima stayed rooted to where he was standing when Rukawa continued to walk away. He blinked a couple of times, replaying what he just heard in his head.  
  
/Well/, he thought. /This ought to be interesting./  
  
*tsuzuku*  
  
A/N: so. how was it? I hope it's not too bad, lol. Anyway, please review, okies?  
  
Currently reading: textbooks! Y__Y I have two quizzes tomorrow.. Currently listening to: THE POSTAL SERVICE - Brand New Colony 


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